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In the previous post, we talked about humanism and renaissance. Now we will deal exclusively with Humanism as a literary school that had rationalism and the appreciation of man as two of its characteristics.
Humanism was a transitional literary movement between troubadourism and classicism that marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age in Europe. It brought ideological, social, cultural and psychological transformations.
Gradually, it was possible to consolidate the importance of science for society and distinguish religious dogmas from human reason to strengthen anthropocentrism to the detriment of theocentrism. The Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, is considered the father of humanism for contributing to the creation of sonnets, bringing together about 300 in his work.
The language of Humanism is rational, historical, political, and theatrical. It is based on the appreciation of the human being and on the psychological universe of the characters. Palace poetry, historical chronicles and theatrical texts were the themes most used by humanist writers.
Historical context of Humanism
The hegemony of the Church was broken and this directly influenced the way of expression of the ascendant society of that period, as well as its relationship with spirituality. The end of feudalism caused migration from the countryside to urban areas.
The first cities (burgs) emerged and, consequently, a new social class, the bourgeoisie. The bourgeois began to compete with the nobility for economic and social power.
The maritime expansion, the invention of the compass, the heliocentric theory proved by Galileo, gave man a more scientific and rationalist posture. Trade expanded and small industries were created.
This new social organization, however, had consequences because the people, accustomed to servitude, had neither education nor professional qualifications to meet the commercial demands that were being consolidated.
It was a period of great hunger and diseases. The bubonic plague epidemic, known as the Black Death, for example, decimated a third of Europe's population. The shift from decentralized power in each fief to its noble in charge during feudalism, led to absolutism, power centralized in the hands of the king.
Characteristics of Humanism
Transition between the Middle Ages and renaissance and classicism – at the end of the Middle Ages the feudal structure, worn out, began to give way to a new social, economic, political and cultural order. All these transformations brought changes in the way of thinking of many people, especially the richest ones who lived in big cities. In this context, intellectual, scientific and artistic movements were developed, such as humanism, renaissance and classicism.
Anthropocentrism – philosophical concept that emphasizes the importance of man as an agent endowed with intelligence and critical capacity. Unlike Theocentrism (God as the center of the world), this concept allowed the decentralization of knowledge that was previously the property of the Church.
Rationalism – strand of modern knowledge theory that defends the innate nature of ideas and that all true knowledge comes from rationality. In other words, it is possible to arrive at the truth only through the exercise of our reason, even before the sensorial experience. An example of this would be mathematics, where we do not need to rely on our senses to establish that 2 + 2 = 4.
Emergence of the bourgeoisie – a group of people dedicated to commerce during the Middle Ages. The term bourgeoisie derives from “burgs”, as the small towns that emerged with the rebirth of commercial activity in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age, between the 14th and 15th centuries, were called.
Scientism – philosophical conception of positivist origin that affirms the superiority of science over all other forms of human understanding of reality (religion, metaphysical philosophy, etc.), as it is the only one capable of presenting practical benefits and achieving authentic cognitive rigor.
Classical antiquity – lengthy period of European history that extends from the eighth century BC, with the rise of Homer's Greek poetry, to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD, more precisely in the year 476. The studies previously conducted by classical Greek and Roman thinkers, especially by Greco-Roman literature and mythology, inspired humanist artists.
Appreciation of man – appreciation of man primarily, contemplating human attributes and achievements. With the distance from religious issues, in this period it was possible to conduct new forms of study about art, science and politics. Inspired by the classic Greco-Roman models, there was an appreciation of the human body and emotions.
Ideal of beauty and perfection – combined with the concept of appreciation of classic models. During this period, the aim was to achieve the perfection of human forms through balanced proportions and perfect beauty.
Literary categories created by authors of Humanism
Palace poetry
Palace poetry was considered the essence that guided the language of humanism. Made by nobles for Portuguese nobles and gentlemen, it spoke of love in a sensual way and without so much idealization of women. They were musical poems, but they were not sung as at the time of troubadourism.
The main themes explored by palace poetry were court customs, religious, satirical, lyrical, and heroic themes. The Portuguese poet Garcia Resende (1482-1536) collected palace poetry in the “General Songbook” (1516). The songbook brought together about nine hundred poetic productions of the time.
The main writers in General Songbook were Garcia de Resende, João Ruiz de Castelo Branco, Nuno Pereira, Fernão da Silveira, Conde Vimioso, Aires Teles, Diogo Brandão and Gil Vicente.
Differences between Palace Poetry and Troubadour Poetry
In troubadourism, poetry was linked to music, hence the name “songs.” The main poetic productions of that time were the lyrical songs (love and friend) and satirical songs (scorn and curse). They were poetic texts recited and accompanied by music and dances.
During humanism, the poetic text separated itself from the music and acquired its independence. The main poetic compositions explored in the period:
Vilancete – old poetic composition of peasant character, consisting of a tierce glossed in two or more octaves, whose final verse fully or partially repeats one of the verses of the tierce.
Esparza – ancient poetic composition, composed in lines of six syllables. Small lyrical composition.
Cantiga – short poem, suitable for being sung by troubadours, with a light theme and great popular acceptance.
Trove – popular and vulgar poetic composition.
Historical chronicle or Historiographical prose
It is a type of historical chronicle that began in the Middle Ages (troubadorism) and reached its apogee with the humanist movement, especially with the works of the Portuguese writer Fernão Lopes. The authors reported the life of the monarchy from historical documents, needing objectivity to relate to reason.
Chivalry novel
Also called Romance of chivalry, a literary genre that prevailed in the Middle Ages, during troubadourism and humanism. They are narratives derived from epic poems and songs of deed. Because they were long, they began to be written in prose.
They probably arose in France and England during the 10th and 15th centuries and are grouped together in medieval prose. In addition to England and France, they had a strong presence and were popularized in Portugal, Spain and Italy.
They were divided into chapters and their main feature is the accounts of the fantastic adventures of the fearless, loyal and honorable medieval knights errant who faced several battles without leaving aside the love for their beautiful maidens.
The main mission of these knights was to establish justice in the world and acquire glory. They faced different monsters, fought in battles, arrested unjust kings along the way. However, the story usually ended tragically.
Theatrical texts
They were divided into autos (short and biblical plays) and farces (plays that portrayed the daily life of society in a comical way). Vicentian Theater was the name given to the theatrical texts produced by the Portuguese playwright Gil Vicente during humanism. It began in 1502, when he presented his play O Monologo do Vaqueiro (The Cowboy Monologue), also called Auto da visitação (Auto of visitation).
Humanism in Portugal
Humanism in Portugal took place from 1434 to 1527 and had as its starting point the appointment of Fernão Lopes as chief chronicler of Torre do Tombo, in 1418. The transition to the renaissance was marked by the return of the poet Sá de Miranda from Italy with the renaissance novelties.
Gil Vicente developed popular theater and stood out with productions in prose (historical chronicles and theater) and poetry (palace poetry) during the 15th and 16th centuries. Prose and theater together reveal Portugal's transformations in politics, economy, and society.
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